COSAP awarded grant to treat substance abuse

The University of New Mexico’s Campus Office of Substance Abuse Prevention (COSAP), a program that's part of the UNM Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions (CASAA), received a $10,000 grant recently from Transforming Youth Recovery (TYR) designed to assist students in recovery from substance use disorders and other addictive behaviors.

The grant provides UNM with early-stage seed funding to engage in a capacity building approach aimed at building the relationships necessary to better meet the needs of students in recovery on campus.

Supporting the creation of an online map of community recovery assets, the grant facilitates a nation-wide network of resource sharing and collaboration among collegiate recovery practitioners, students and community members.

“College can often be a difficult place to be for students in recovery from alcohol or other drugs. We’re hoping to build a community of recovering students and attempt to provide whatever services they need to maintain sobriety and achieve success in their academic pursuits” said John Steiner, COSAP program manager.

The project goal is to create a sustainable recovery program on campus that provides a safe and supportive environment for students in recovery from substance use disorders and other addictive behaviors.

TYR, a non-profit organization founded in 2013, looks specifically at the community, educational and peer networks that influence youth development and achievement, and is both studying and conceiving novel approaches that have the potential to dramatically expand family and school-based prevention, intervention and recovery support services—one community, one school, one student at a time.

For more information about the COSAP effort or to get involved, contact John Steiner at (505) 277-2795 or jstein@unm.edu.